Two women are on trial accused of murdering businesswoman Sadie Hartley in her own home.

Sarah Williams, 34, of Treborth Road, Blacon, Chester, and Katrina Walsh, 56, of Hare Lane, Chester, have both pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering the 60-year-old mother-of-two in the Lancashire village where she lived.

Ms Hartley, who ran her own medical communications business, was found dead from stab wounds at her detached home on Sunny Bank Road in Helmshore, Rossendale, on January 14, this year.

The prosecution were expected to conclude their evidence on Monday, August 2, with legal teams for Sarah Williams and Katrina Walsh set to begin their defence cases later in the week.

We will be bringing you live updates from the trial, being held in Court 5 of Preston Crown Court, with High Court judge Mr Justice Turner trying the case.

Key Events

Court adjourned until tomorrow morning

That is all the evidence we’re going to hear today. After some brief legal discussion the trial is adjourned until 10.30am tomorrow morning.

15:17

'It was just electronic flirting and nothing more'

Mr Johnston says he repeatedly tried to end contact with Miss Williams but “she would turn back up, I would be flattered by it and I would fall for it.”“You’re weak aren’t you?” Mr Cross asks him.“Probably yes” he replies.“You may have been vulnerable and may have been reduced by your circumstances but the reality is you simply couldn’t resist what she was doing by text?” Mr Cross adds.Mr Johnston says “it was just electronic flirting and nothing more.”

15:05

Miss Williams was 'delusional', says Mr Johnston

Concluding his cross-examination Mr Cole tells him it is “complete nonsense” he wanted to get rid of Sarah Williams.“You may have wanted her as a bit on the side but you wanted her didn’t you?” Mr Cole asks him.Mr Johnston replies: “Once me and Sadie decided we were going to be together I did not want Sarah Williams as a bit on the side.“I have flirted with her but I never saw her.”Anthony Cross QC, defending Katrina Walsh, said: “You may have never intended to perform the sexual acts you were talking about but you were talking about them.“There is no good excuse for that is there?”Mr Johnston says he “didn’t need an excuse”.He is read a text from Miss Williams about wanting to be with him and he says she was “delusional.”

14:57

Letter sent to Sadie Hartley's home

We are hearing more about the letter the prosecution say Sarah Williams sent to Sadie Hartley in September 2014.Mr Johnston says he remembers that the letter was hand-written and he destroyed it.However, the court hears the letter found in Mrs Hartley’s home was typed and had a phone number on it.Mr Johnston says Sadie told she him had phoned the number on it “but she didn’t know it was Sarah”.However he says from the content “it was pretty clear who it was from.”

14:41

Texts 'were a moment of weakness'

Mr Johnston says despite his efforts to merely maintain relations with Sarah “I would sometimes fall foul of that.”There are more emotional scenes as he again sobs in the witness box.He says fighting back tears that the texts “were a moment of weakness.”

14:36

'My main concern was an embarrassing outburst if we were to meet'

The court hears Mr Johnston and Sarah Williams were still exchanging texts in November and December 2015, just weeks before Sadie Hartley was killed in January 2016.Mr Johnston says: “I remember very little of this period.”Mr Cole says many of these messages were also sexually explicit.He says Miss Williams sent an explicit photograph to him which he replied: “Oh my. xx”Mr Cole says he was “actively encouraging her” to continue this contact.“You’re not telling her to stop or to go away are you?”Mr Johnston says he was “doing his best to keep her on board” in order to maintain relations within the ski group.He says he would often be at the Chill Factore, where Sarah worked, and “my main concern was an embarrassing outburst if we were to meet.”

14:26

'It's not the kind of thing I have done before'

We are now back underway after the lunch adjournment.Over the break Mr Johnston was shown a number of explicit images Miss Williams` defence say he sent to her via text message.After viewing them he says he may have sent them but he didn’t recognise them and that “it’s not the kind of thing I have done before.”He also says he is “absolutely sure” he never gave Miss Williams a set of keys to his house.In the weeks before Sadie died Mr Johnston said “there were no issues per say” in their relationship.“There was a lot of pressure on our relationship from external factors.“I attempted to talk to her about these because she appeared teary and stressed about it.“But there were lots of reasons that could have been.”

14:12KEY EVENT

Summary of this morning's evidence

While the court is at lunch, here’s a summary of what we’ve heard this morning.Sarah Williams and Katrina Walsh both deny murdering 60-year-old Sadie Hartley.Sadie Hartley’s partner at the time of her death, Ian Johnston, has been in the witness stand this morning. He has been explaining how they had broken up previously, but got back in touch in 2010 and rekindled their relationship.Mr Johnston said he then met Sarah Williams, one of the defendants, in December 2012 through a ski club. He told the court that the relationship developed ‘very quickly’. He told the court: “There was no dating. She came round to my house, after being invited, and she arrived in a short skirt and red high heels.”Questioned by the defence for Sarah Williams, Mr Johnston said their relationship was ‘purely sexual’ and that from spring 2013 he had decided ‘he didn’t want a relationship with her’. Mr Johnston broke down in court when he said that in 2014 he had gone away on holiday with Sadie Hartley and ‘planned their future’. They moved in together in November 2014.But the court has heard that text messages between Mr Johnston and Sarah Williams continued into late 2015. Many of the texts were explicit and contained naked photographs.Mr Johnston told the court: “I was flattered by a young lady.”

The prosecution claims Sarah Williams was ‘obsessed’ with Mr Johnston, and wanted to ‘ruthlessly remove’ Sadie Hartley.Sadie Hartley was found stabbed more than 40 times after being paralysed with a high-voltage stun gun as she answered her front door in Helmshore, Lancashire. Miss Williams, from Chester, denies murder.

Ian Johnston, the partner of murdered businesswoman Sadie Hartley

13:07Chris Slater

Did Mrs Hartley know about the texts? 'No, she didn't'

Mr Johnston is asked if Mrs Hartley knew about the texts.“No she didn’t” he replies.Mr Cole says: “This wasn’t you trying to get rid of her (Sarah Williams) was it?“You wanted her and you wanted a relationship to continue with her?”“No I didn’t” Mr Johnston replies.The court now breaks for lunch.

13:04Chris Slater

'I wanted to end the relationship... she was very persuasive'

Mr Johnston is asked by Mr Cole if he “wanted rid” of Sarah Williams?He says: “I didn’t want a relationship with her.“She was embedded in the ski group“I was probably too kind.“I didn’t want rid of her I just didn’t want it to continue.“But I did continue to text her.”Mr Cole brings up a visit to Sarah Williams house in November 2013 where Mr Johnston says he went round to fix some telemark skiing equipment.However Mr Johnston also admits the pair had sex on that occasion.He says in response to more text messages which are read out: “I wanted to end the relationship. “I’m not saying I did, I’m saying I was trying.“She was very persistent and she was very persuasive.“At that time (December 2013) there were lots of texts flying around.”He adds at that time he and Sadie had been away together but “hadn’t made any commitments.”

12:40Chris Slater

'You led her on'

Mr Cole puts it to Mr Johnston that he had sent explicit photographs of himself to Miss Williams.

“I do not remember sending any pictures of my genitalia to Sarah Williams” he tells the court.

“You led her on.

“You led her on and on to think there was something in your relationship didn’t you?” Mr Cole asks him.

“No I didn’t” he replies.

12:37KEY EVENT

'Relationship was purely sexual'

Mr Johnston is now being cross-examined by Gordon Cole QC, who is defending Sarah Williams.Mr Johnston says he decided from Spring 2013 onwards he had decided “he didn’t want a relationship with her.”About the texts he says: “I was flattered by a young lady.“The texts were meaningless in terms of any physical relationship.“They were a placation, they were an entertainment.”He adds there relationship was “purely sexual” and was “historic” at the time the texts were sent.He says Sarah told him she loved him but he “couldn’t understand” how that could be the case given they had never been on holiday, out for dinner, to the theatre etc.

11:58Chris Slater

Letter was 'the only negative' from Sarah Williams

Mr Johnston says the letter “was the only negative I ever saw” from Sarah Williams towards Sadie Hartley.He also says at that time he had never met or spoken to co-defendant Katrina, or `Kit’ Walsh.The court is now taking a short break.

11:49Chris Slater

'I never saw her again'

Asked what his intentions were with Sarah Williams when he returned from Switzerland in January this year, where Sadie Hartley was due to meet him, Mr Johnston said “none at all.”“I can’t recall half the text messages” he adds.“We certainly never met up.“After the letter was sent I never saw her again.”He says he was informed about his partner’s death after receiving a phone call from the police at around midnight on January 14th.He says he then heard about the arrest of Sarah Williams several days later.”

11:44Chris Slater

Explicit texts and naked photographs

Ian Johnston and Sadie Hartley moved into together in November 2014 the court is told.The jury are read some text messages between Mr Johnston and Sarah Williams in late 2015.In one she tells him “there is no one to replace you” and “I cannot let anyone else touch me.”Many of the texts were explicit with and contained naked photographs, the court is told.Mr Johnston says he “responded in the same vein” and didn’t block her number.However he insists he “didn’t want any kind of relationship with her.”Talking about some messages he sent in October 2015 he says: “I read them back the following day and was absolutely distraught that I had sent the texts.”

11:25Chris Slater

Mr Johnston breaks down as he says 'we planned our future'

There are emotional scenes in court as Mr Johnston breaks down in tears in the witness box as he talks about his and Sadie’s relationship.He becomes emotional after saying that in 2014: “We decided we should perhaps get together and decided we were going to go on holiday together to discuss it.“And that’s what we did.“We went to Sicily for five days where we planned our future.”

11:24Chris Slater

'Physically forced her way in'

Mr Johnston also recounts a time Sarah Williams arrived at his house with high heels in her hands. He said: “I tried to stop her but she physically tried to move me out of the way.”

He says he eventually “managed to get her screaming and shouting onto the doorstep.”He says in 2014 he and Sadie decided to properly become a couple after she received the letter, said to be from Miss Williams.He said: “We discussed the letter and its merits and we decided in all the circumstances, and for all sorts of reasons, we should get together.“Sadie was a very pragmatic and driven lady.”

11:20KEY EVENT

'Tried for months to end relationship'

Mr Johnston says he had “tried for months” to end the relationship with Sarah Williams.“I probably wasn’t forceful enough as it turns out” he adds.He says by summer 2014 his relationship with Sadie Hartley “had been rekindled.”The court is now being read extracts of a letter which Sarah Williams is said to have sent to Sadie Hartley telling her about her relationship with Ian Johnston.Mr Johnston says Miss Williams showed him a similar, hand-written letter but he destroyed it as he thought “most of it was nonsense.”He says he didn’t know Mrs Hartley had kept a copy of the letter she received.

Ian Johnston arriving at court

11:00Chris Slater

'She would keep turning up unannounced'

Mr Johnston says he “tried” to end things with Miss Williams in 2013.He says he warned her before they became intimate that he didn’t want a serious relationship as he didn’t think it was “fair” because of his frequent travelling.However he says: “She would keep turning up at my house unannounced.“I wasn’t very happy with her turning up and I would tell her so.”

10:59Chris Slater

'She arrived in a short skirt and red high heels'

Mr Johnston said the pair began meeting up again infrequently, and the pair began being intimate again, after Sadie moved to Cheshire from Buckinghamshire in around 2011.Mr Johnston he has “agonised” over trying to remember when he first met Sarah Williams.He says he believes it was in December 2012 and was through a ski club.He says they exchanged numbers and he and Miss Williams began to exchange “very flirty” texts.He adds things became intimate “very quickly.”He says: “There was no dating.“She came round to my house, after being invited, and she arrived in a short skirt and red high heels.”He says after 2008 “me and Sadie never discussed anything permanent in our relationship.”“It was ad-hoc if you will.”

10:47

'Rekindled our relationship'

Mr Johnston, wearing a smart black suit, has taken the oath and is now in the witness box.He says he was working as a firefighter when he first met Sadie Hartley in 2002 and their relationship began to “grow” into an intimate in or around 2006.He says in around 2008 he decided it was “too difficult to maintain a relationship at that stage” and they “went our separate ways.”However they rekindled their contact in 2010 after Mr Johnston had retired from the fire service.

10:44KEY EVENT

Evidence due from victim's partner

Good morning. Today is the eight day of the trial of friends Sarah Williams and Katrina Walsh, accused of plotting and carrying out the killing of Miss Williams’ love rival Sadie Hartley.This morning we will be hearing evidence from Mrs Hartley’s partner at the time of her death, Ian Johnston.The prosecution claim Sarah Williams was “obsessed” with him and as a result wanted to “ruthlessly remove” Mrs Hartley.Miss Williams and Mrs Walsh both deny the charge of murder.